


Origami

by JessicaEBoswell



Category: Red vs. Blue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 11:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9322244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessicaEBoswell/pseuds/JessicaEBoswell
Summary: Maybe teaching Caboose origami wasn’t the best of ideas.





	

Washington enjoyed nothing more than the quiet hours of the evening, when the day was done, the arguments over training and trivial matters had been dealt with, and he could have a few hours to himself where Tucker wasn’t talking back and Caboose was quietly napping.

The former Freelancer took advantage of his free time and returned to his room at blue base, taking multiple sheets of coloured paper from the top drawer of his desk and beginning to fold them into various shapes. He’d always enjoyed origami, ever since he was a child, the peaceful craft relaxing him after a difficult day, and it was a relaxation method that he’d carried over into his adult years.

As he took out the 3D cat model he’d been working on there was a knock at the door, and seconds later a sleepy-eyed Caboose entered the room, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

“I thought you were napping,” Washington commented, peering over his shoulder to glance at Caboose before returning to his crafts.

“I was,” Caboose sighed, “but then I had a bad dream, and I woke up, and now I can’t sleep.” The blue soldier noticed an array of bright paper scattered across the desk and approached. He picked up a piece and turned it over in his hand, spotting a tiny paper cat by the lamp. “It’s a cat!” he enthused, pointing at it and grinning from ear to ear as he glanced between the paper cat and the ex-freelancer.

“Yes, it’s a cat,” Washington confirmed, retrieving the lilac kitten and handing it carefully to the blue soldier.

“It’s so pretty!” Caboose held the delicate piece up to the light and chuckled, the illumination making the little creature look as if it was alive. He sat himself down on the edge of Washington’s bed, running his fingers over the cat’s tiny ears. “Can you teach me?”

Washington considered refusing and telling Caboose to go back to bed; all he wanted to do was spend a few hours in silence, working on a hobby that soothed his mind, but he couldn’t deny that it was in those moments that he felt the loneliness the most, his memories using the quiet to torment him even more relentlessly than usual, and he could use the company and the distraction. “Okay,” he sighed, turning in his seat to face the young blue soldier and handing him a piece of paper. “I’ll teach you some of the basics.”

Caboose’s grin grew and he took the piece of paper from Washington, listening intently and focusing on each and every instruction. At first his creations were a disaster, accidentally tearing the paper or crumpling it too much, and he became a little disheartened, but after a few hours of determined perseverance he’d finally created his first piece. “I did it!” he declared, holding up the tiny origami creation. “It’s a frog!”

Washington chuckled and nodded, watching as Caboose held his work up to his bright eyes and made it hop across his field of vision.

“Thank you, Agent Washington,” Caboose said, getting to his feet and stretching. “This was really fun.”

“And thank you, Caboose.”

“I think I’ll go back to sleep now.” The blue soldier waved and smiled, and headed for the door, but before he could reach for the button he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned around in confusion.

“Here,” Washington said, handing him a small pile of paper. “If you ever have a bad dream again, you can practice.” The ex-freelancer was dragged into crushing hug, and it took all his strength to keep the young soldier from breaking a bone. “Thanks, Caboose,” he squeaked, breathing deeply a couple of times once he’d finally been released.

Caboose smiled and left, and it was only once the room had fallen quiet again that Washington began to realise just how tired he was.

 

* * *

 

He didn’t know when he’d fallen asleep, only that now he was wide awake and confused. There was a sliver of light seeping through the window and sliding underneath the blinds, and so he guessed it was early morning. With a slight grunt of exertion he sat himself up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and glancing around the room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first, nothing that would strike him as odd, but then a small paper figure fell from his hair, and he noticed that he was surrounded by them, his room swarmed with origami frogs, cats, butterflies, and flowers. He narrowed his eyes, wondering how they’d all gotten there, and then he realised. Caboose.

With a sigh he threw the covers back and got out of bed, carefully making his way across the room and finding a figure of a blue soldier with a note attached to it on top of his dresser. Washington opened the note and skimmed over the contents, looking around the dimly lit room. It would take a while to clear it all up and find somewhere to store all of it, but he couldn’t be mad at Caboose. If anything it reminded him that no matter how much the memories tormented him, no matter how guilty he felt for what had happened, he had a new family who were looking out for him, and no matter how much they tried his patience, that would never change.


End file.
